Chicken-n'-Egg on Rice (Oyako Donburi)

modified from Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art by Shizuo Tsuji

Ingredients:

• 4-5 eggs
• 3/4 pound skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/4 inch cubes, preferably raw, but leftover cooked chicken can be used if you are looking for a way to use it up. Thin sliced pork or beef could be used.
• 4 green onions (or 2 naganegi long onions), cut into 2 1/2 inch lengths
• Just cooked white rice

Sauce:

• 2 1/2 cups chicken stock or dashi
• up to 9 Tbsp soy sauce (or up to 6 Tbsp dark soy sauce & 3 Tbsp light soy sauce if you happen to have light soy sauce)
• 3 Tbsp sugar

Hot rice should be cooked and ready to eat before following this recipe.

Crack eggs into a medium mixing bowl.

Combine sauce ingredients in a medium sized saucepan. Bring to gentle boil over medium high heat. Add check and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Add onion and simmer for 1 minute longer. Check that the chicken is fully cooked--if it is still a bit raw, then continue cooking. Taste and correct seasoning if necessary (e.g. salt).

Lightly mix, but do not beat, the eggs with a fork. Pour eggs gently in a steady stream around the chicken in the simmering sauce. Let the eggs spread naturally--do not stir. Keep heat at medium high until the egg starts to bubble at the edges. At this point, stir once. Do not let the egg cook hard; the dish is done when the egg has almost set, but is still be a little runny (they will continue to cook on the hot rice).

Put a portion of hot rice into a serving bowl. The rice should be very hot, so that the eggs will finish cooking on the rice. Use a large serving spoon to transfer some chicken, egg, and sauce onto the rice. The sauce should seep down into the rice, but the dish should not be soupy. If the egg does not set enough, then you can microwave the rice for a few seconds to finish cooking. Serve immediately.